Even
by hlp
Summary: COMPLETE Jack tries to keep up with Riddick. Not good with summaries.
1. Chapter 1

Note: I don't own Riddick (oh but I wish) or Jack.

They never slept apart. Not that they couldn't, it just didn't seem all that important. Plus two beds always cost extra in hotel rooms and apartments. Riddick did make sure however that whenever possible they get the biggest bed they could afford. He took up a lot of space and Jack, well she just moved around in her sleep – a lot. One morning Jack woke to find Riddick sleeping on the floor. When asked why he was down there he replied that it was more comfortable than sleeping with a foot or elbow in his ribs the whole night.

He came home late that night, again. He fell into bed, just barely taking off his boots and goggles. He smelled like he always did on those nights, liquor and whores. Not that they were together or anything but it still pissed her off anyway. She knew he was Riddick but liquor is liquor and anyone after a certain amount would not be as alert, his reflexes not as quick. That's all she needed - to be called down to the morgue in the middle of the night to id his body, some mugging gone bad. That and the fact that she didn't even want to know how many diseases he could catch from his "adventures" with the strippers and prostitutes. "Why do you keep doing this to yourself?" "Doing what, Jack" he mumbled into the pillow. She just sighed at that, he new darn well what she was talking about – men, can't live with them, can't shoot them - at least not this one anyway. "It's either this or I start killing again". He hadn't killed or even gotten into a fight the whole two years since the planet, he did however keep doing this every time he got the chance and she was tired of ignoring it, it was dangerous and a waste of his money, which he didn't have much of to start with.

"Those are the only two choices?" "It's not a choice, it's all I know" was his only reply, still half asleep wishing the conversation would end and he could rest. He was beginning to not feel well and it was starting to worry him, he was usual fine after his nights out. "Everyone chooses who they will and won't be, what they will and won't do". At that he got up and went into the bathroom, closing the door behind him. "He apparently didn't like my response" she thought. "Oh who cares?" she reasoned, "it's the truth, not my fault if he can't take it". She heard the shower come on and was slightly relived to know that he would come back to bed clean at least.


	2. Chapter 2

Riddick was feeling worse by the second. He was sweaty and felt clammy and there were sharp pains in his stomach. He got into the shower hoping it would relax him and make him feel better but it wasn't helping. He got out, toweled off and put his PJ bottoms on. He really didn't like pajamas all that much. He would much rather sleep in his boxers or, even better, nothing at all but he knew that wouldn't be right, plus if Jack came to bed like that he would tell her to put some dang clothes on (at least that is what he hoped he would say). He didn't want to risk that situation (he could barely keep it together when she just wore one of his old t-shirts to bed) so he wore the bottoms, which were, ironically enough, much more comfortable than the pants he usually fell into bed with.

As soon as he got the pj's on he got the worst pain in his stomach. So bad that it brought him to his knees.

The water had been turned off for a couple of minutes before she heard something crash to the floor. She jumped up to see what was wrong. She had made Riddick promise to never lock the bathroom door. He thought this was silly but she had always been afraid that something would happen and she wouldn't be able to get to him. She promised she would never open the door if it were closed.

She knocked on the door. "Riddick, you ok?" no response. "I'm coming in, is that ok?" she heard a grunt and took it as a yes. She opened the door slowly hoping he had some clothes on, she new how embarrassed she would be if the situation was reversed, even though she knew he probably wouldn't care, privacy is the first thing to go in the Slam. She found him hunched over the toilet. When she tried to approach him he held up his hand. "Don't, I'm sick" – he didn't want her to be grossed out, he was grossed out and he was the sick one. "I've been around sick people before Riddick. Don't worry I'll be fine. It's you I'm worried about." She came and knelt down beside him, at the same time flushing the toilet for him. He didn't feel like he was going to throw-up again but he didn't have the strength to get up just then. She sat there and rubbed his back for a while.

"Was it the alcohol?" "No, I didn't drink that much and even if I had I've never thrown-up before, just get a really bad headache". "Maybe you should go the clinic and see if you got any thing from one of your "friends"". He just gave her a look out of the corner of his eye about that comment. "Ok, what did you eat today?" "I just had a burger and fries for lunch over at the place a couple of blocks away." She knew the place, wouldn't go in there if someone paid her. "Well it looks like you tried to cheat food poisoning one too many times." "She's probably right" he thought with a sigh, "from now on I'll just stick with cooking my own food."


	3. Chapter 3

"Let's get you back in the bed, ok?" She helped him up and got him back under the covers. "I'll be right back." He was too tired to respond. She came back a few minutes later with some water and saltine crackers from the kitchen. He gulped the water down quickly and then eyed the crackers. "I'm sick Jack, not pregnant." "Whatever, I was just trying to help" she replied as she crawled back into bed. "Get some sleep Riddick, we both have to go to work tomorrow." She was just about to drift back to sleep - "How'd you know about the crackers?" He was now lying on his back looking at the ceiling. "Oh crap!" she thought. He was just as stubborn as her (if not more so) and wasn't going to let this go. "Heard about it on TV" was her answer. "You never were a good liar, Jack. You ever need them?" "Need what?" Even though she was lying on her side with her back turn to him she could tell that he turned his head to look at her. "The crackers, stop playing games with me."

It came out sounding like he was angry and he really wasn't. Things happen to people, he knew that. Maybe she had a boyfriend; maybe someone did something to her. He was more upset that she had never mentioned it to him before. Than again it really was none of his business, lord knows there were things about him she would never know, not if he could help it anyway. "Sorry Jack, never mind", but it was too late, he heard her crying on the other side of the bed.

Now Jack was pissed off. Mister "Top Secret" himself was going to get all in her business? Business she didn't even want to remember let alone talk about? Fine, if he wanted to talk about it he would hear it. The whole story, whether he wanted to or not.


	4. Chapter 4

"Yes I needed them, when I was 12." He was pissed off with himself for making her cry but now that she was talking he thought it might help her if she talked about it. "Who was the guy?" "My Father." At that moment Riddick felt as though his heart stopped. He couldn't breath and it felt like he was going to be sick again. He knew her father was an ass but he didn't know he slept with her. Riddick had been through more in his life than anyone should ever have to go through and yet even he couldn't think of a single thing that had ever happened to him that could be worse than what Jack just told him. Once he found his voice again he decided to continue, what could be worse than what she just said? "So you got rid of it?" "No, I tried to go to the clinic a couple of times but every time I sat in the lobby I kept thinking that it wasn't the kids fault I had a screwed up life. Finally I decided to just have the baby, hope it was okay and then give it up for adoption. Give it a better life than I had." "So you gave it away?" "No, never got that far. I was trying to keep the fact a secret from my father. One day I came home from school and he tried to rape me again. That's when he noticed my belly. He went crazy, started yelling, throwing stuff around. He grabbed me and called me a stupid bitch, then threw me down the stairs. I lost the baby. I could take what my father did to me, I was used to it, but when he hurt an innocent baby...as soon as I was discharged from the hospital I left that planet, promised myself I would never go back there."

"You should have never been used to him hurting you, you deserved better than that. I hope you know it wasn't your fault", he had told himself the same thing a thousand times and knew how hard it was to believe that.


	5. Chapter 5

"I should have run when I found out about the baby, I stayed and got it killed. I was so stupid, what did I think he was going to do?" Now she was really crying. Riddick threw her covers off of her, grabbed her and brought her under his covers with him. She was still crying and his mouth was so close to her ear that when he spoke his lips brushed her earlobe, "You worked with what you had, you were young and scared and had no where else to go. Believe me, I know the feeling, the feeling of helplessness. You. Did. Nothing. Wrong. You are a good, kind, wonderful person and you always have been and always will be. Okay?" "Okay" she said quietly. She actually did feel a little better, she had never told anyone else what had happened and it felt good to get it off her chest. And he didn't judge her like she thought people would, like she judged herself. He actually thought of her as a good person even after all the stuff she told him.

"You still feeling sick?" "Not really, why?" "You're hot." "Why, thank you" he said with that Riddick smirk on his face. "No," she said slapping him on the chest "you really do feel hot." "I know, I've always been that way." "So you just let me stay way over there on the other side of the bed freezing my ass off? Jerk." "I'm not the one who has to put my feet in peoples ribcages at 3 in the morning, remember?" he shot back. "Sorry, it's just that...I have nightmares sometimes and I start moving around in my sleep. Didn't mean to hurt you," she admitted. "It doesn't hurt, it's just uncomfortable. I didn't know it was because of your dreams. How about if you stay over here and I will just wake you up when you start moving around?" "When you're here you mean?" She knew that was a low blow but since they were having such a serious conversation she thought she would try get him to talk about his problems, maybe she could help him just a little bit. "I have them to Jack" "You have what?" "Nightmares. So I go out and drink and try to forget about everything and relax. That way I just come home and go straight to sleep and don't dream at all. See - when you have a nightmare and kick me in the side it doesn't hurt. When I have a nightmare and start swinging in my sleep I'm afraid I'll really hurt you." "So you never have any good dreams?" "No" "I'm sorry Riddick. I didn't know." "It's okay Jack. It's not your fault, you didn't do anything." "Hey how about if you wake me up when I have a nightmare and I wake you up when you have a nightmare?"

Riddick was really going out on a limb here trusting her like this but they had been together for two years and in all that time she never did anything to put either of them in danger. "Here it goes" he thought "hope this works out". "Well in that case Jack, I think you should hold on to this so I don't really hurt you". He then handed her one of his shives from under his pillow. "You always sleep with this?" Jack wasn't really that surprised but since they hadn't even been given a second look by anyone in the past two years she didn't really think he would still think he needed it. "You never know where and when something bad will happen, you always have to be ready. I am trusting you with this because I don't want to hurt you but if I ever need it you better be quick, okay?" "Of course Riddick" and she slid it in-between the bed and the headboard.


	6. Chapter 6

"Okay, you've explained about the drinking, but what about the women?" "Do you want the honest answer?" "I wouldn't ask otherwise" "Okay, because I'm horny - how's that? "Okay, I take it back" she thought, "I didn't want to know". "You think you're the only one around here who gets lonely? But you don't see me running around all night long with guys do you?" She was getting upset and she didn't know why, she didn't think it was safe for him to be with so many women and it was a waste of money but he was a grown man, why was she so hurt by his answer? "You can do what ever you want Jack, I'm not stopping you." He knew as soon as he said it that he should have just kept his mouth shut. He could feel her stiffen up beside him, she then took his covers off of her, moved back over to her side of the bed, and got under her covers, turn her back to him and said, "fine, I will".

All Riddick could think was "Oh, damn".

The next day after work Jack got home after Riddick who was sitting on the bed watching TV. She got some clothes out of the closet and went into the bathroom. She came out 45 minutes later dressed to go out. Riddick was trying not to look like he was paying attention or even interested in what she was doing but inside he was really really hoping that she wasn't taking what he said last night as a dare or even worse, permission to act like him. He had already decided after there talk the night before that he was going to start staying home at night, maybe even see if Jack wanted to go out every once in the while. As she was putting her heals on the phone rang. Riddick answered because he was closest to the phone. "Jack, it's for you." "Who is it?" At this point Riddick decided to go back watching TV and ignore her - he didn't want to know who it was. As it was it was a guy and that in and of itself pissed Riddick off. Even though the phone was cordless Jack stood right by the bed for her conversation. She knew she was already bothering Riddick and she was loving every minute of it. "Oh, Hi Tom...yeah I'll be ready in another 10 minutes or so. Okay see you then, bye." She went back over to the mirror on the other side of the room to put her make-up on. She could see Riddick in the reflection sitting on the bed, as she put on her lipstick he looked up at her and she could have sworn that for a brief moment he looked...well, sad.

The doorbell rang and Jack grabbed her purse and her jacket, not even giving Riddick a good-bye. Riddick would have followed her but he didn't want to give her the satisfaction. He knew if he followed them he would end up doing something bad to the guy and that would just make Jack furious and at the same time make him look like a hypocrite, which he would be. She never followed him; she never did anything to any of the women he had been with. He decided to not think about her and enjoy an evening in. He finished watching the game that was on, cooked some dinner, and took a shower. He lay there in bed wondering where she was, if she was okay. "Stop thinking about her, she is out having a good time like you told her to," he thought, "if you didn't want her to go out you never should have encouraged it." He tossed and turned and kept looking at the clock. 11pm, 12pm, 1am, 2am...finally after the clock turned 3am he decided to go looking for her. Just then he heard the door open. She had taken her shoes off and was walking on her tippy toes so as to avoid waking him, even though he would have awoken from that even if he had been a sleep. He could see her in the corner; she had put one of his shirts on and was now taking her dress off underneath it. She quietly got in the bed.

"Have a good time?" "What do you care?" was all the response he got. At that he grabbed her and brought her over to his side of the bed. He actually thought it would make him feel better now that she was back safe and close to him. Instead of making him feel better he felt worse, she didn't fight him but she didn't put her arms around him like she did before and she smelled like liquor, cigarettes and other guys. He pushed her back to her side of the bed. "You stink, take a shower" Riddick demanded. "Now you know how it feels." "So that's what this is all about, to get even with me? Why do you care what I do anyway Jack?" No response.


	7. Chapter 7

Riddick gave up that she was ever going answer. She was very stubborn, so when she didn't want to talk to him she didn't and there wasn't anything he could do about it.

"Are they pretty than me?" "Who?!!" "The whores, why do you go out to them, what makes them better than me?"

Riddick did not have fully developed social skills, being in the slam since such a young age. He especially didn't have good communication skills when it came to women, as about 85 of the slam population was male. So when Jack asked him about the other women he totally and completely misunderstood what she was saying.

He grabbed her again and pulled her back to him this time with him straddling on top of her. "So you want to be a whore, you want me to treat you like a whore?!!!" Riddick was beyond mad now and he was yelling centimeters from her face. "Fine I'll treat you like a whore from now on." He didn't do anything to her, wasn't even planning to, he was just mad at what he thought she was trying to say and he was trying to scare her before he found her out on a street corner somewhere.

As soon as the words came out of his mouth Jack's whole body went limp beneath him, she turned her head away from him and closed her eyes. "What the heck??!!" Riddick thought. Then it came to him, she was scared of him, afraid he was going to treat her like other men treated her, like her father treated her. Who could blame her, he was lying on top of her and in that position there would be absolutely nothing she could do to keep him from hurting her if that was his intention. Plus he was madder than he had ever been with her and was yelling at her, calling her a whore.

"Jack, I'm sorry - your not a whore, you never were. I'm not going to hurt you, please please be okay, I'm sorry okay?" He had gotten off of her and was now holding her in his arms but she still wasn't talking to him. He put her back on her side of the bed and put her covers back on. "We'll talk tomorrow okay Jack. I'm sorry, I really am."

"That's not what I meant", she said quietly before she closed her eyes.

Riddick stayed awake all night trying to figure what she did mean.


	8. Chapter 8

The next day was Saturday so Jack was able to sleep in. When she finally woke around 11 Riddick wasn't there. At first she panicked thinking he had left her but after a moment she realized that all his stuff was still there plus he really didn't have any money to be going anywhere. "He must just be out running errands", she thought getting into the shower. Once in some jeans and a T-shirt she came out into the kitchen to grab some lunch. She found Riddick in the living room on the computer. "How can someone so big be so quiet?" she thought. He had some shopping bags on the floor around his feet. She went back to making her sandwich and made one for him just in case he was hungry. She was still upset about last night but she couldn't stay mad at him. He didn't say he was sorry for anything unless he really was sorry, she had realized when he was apologizing to her last night that he really did misunderstand her. She didn't blame him – she didn't even know why she said it.

"What are you doing?" she asked setting the plate down next to him on the desk. "Well at least she's talking to me again," he thought. "I'm looking up restaurants." "Why?" He came down and sat beside her on the couch with the plate in his hand, setting it on the coffee table. "Look Jack, maybe I'm just stupid or something but I still can't figure out what you really meant last night. All I could think of is that you might want to go out every once in the while and have a good time, together. So I was thinking we could go to dinner tonight just the two of us." He was really trying to be nice to her and she really did want to spend time with him but for some reason she was irritated by what he said, like he felt sorry for her or something. She stood up from the couch and headed for the door. "I don't need your pity" she replied. He was in front of her before she could even blink. He had her by the shoulders and lifted her up off the ground so they would be eye to eye. "What do you want from me then Jack? Just tell me because I don't know." She started to cry again and he thought it was because he had hurt her by picking her up. He set her back down but once her feet were on the ground she slumped down to the floor, just sitting they're crying. "Jack you know I would give you anything you asked for, tell me what you need." "I don't know what I need okay!" she screamed it even though she didn't mean to. He squatted down to look at her and reached out and brushed the hair back out of her face. "I don't know what I want or need anymore and even if I did I know I can't have it okay?" "Is it money? A bigger apartment? Clothes? You want a new job?" he was trying to narrow this down. "No, nothing that simple Riddick." "Okay do you at least know what it has to do with?" "It has to do with you," she stated with not an ounce of emotion in her voice. She then got up off the ground and walked straight out the front door, leaving a very confused and stunned Riddick behind.


	9. Chapter 9

He didn't even get around to telling her what was in the bag. He had went out and bought some nice clothes for the both of them. A nice white dress shirt and black pants for himself and a fancy black top and some red pants for her. Red was her favorite color.

He went back over and sat down on the couch, finally eating his sandwich and thinking. Thinking about what Jack just said and what it meant for both of them.

She walked out of the house without thinking. She had nowhere to go plus she forgot her purse or her jacket and it was getting cold fast. She had no choice but to turn back around and head back home and face the rejection that was soon to come. She hadn't really even realized she love him until just a few moments ago when he told her he would give her anything she wanted. She loved him as a friend and lately she had been missing him more and more when he was not with her but she figured out at that moment she loved him and why. She had no doubt in her mind that he would do anything for her, he hadn't even gone out or had a drink since they talked the other night and he didn't have to do that, but he did it because he wanted to make her happy. He was the only true friend she ever had. She decided that even after he told her he didn't care about her in that way she was still going to stay with him and still be his friend, that is, if he let her.

She walked back in the house hoping that Riddick went out to find her or something. Maybe she could just go to bed and pretend nothing had happened.

She walked in to find Riddick standing in the kitchen with a coffee cup in his hand. She had never seen him dressed the way he was before. Usually Riddick dressed in black pants and a black tank top, wearing a white t-shirt when he had to go to work. Now he was in black dress pants and the whitest, crispest shirt she had ever seen. He even had nice shoes on, not the boots he always wore. "Why are you dressed like that?" "I stilled wanted to take you out…if you wanted." "Okay" is all she could manage.


	10. Chapter 10

She figured she better just go out and have a good time. Riddick was trying to pretend she hadn't said what she said. She could take a hint, he didn't want her but he didn't want to lose her as a friend. "I guess that's better than nothing," she thought. She found her new clothes on the bed, they were perfect. It was funny to picture Riddick is some women store picking out clothes for her but she thought it was sweet just the same. She, unlike Riddick, spent all of her extra cash (what little she had) on clothes. Her side of the closet took up about 85 of the space and Riddick never complained, even when he opened the closet door and shoes fell out. She got dressed and walked out of the bedroom.

Riddick was sitting on the couch waiting for her but got up as soon as he heard her coming. "Thanks for the clothes, they're beautiful and I had a pair of shoes that matched perfectly." Riddick always thought that Jack was beautiful but the outfit made her look gorgeous. "This is going to be easier than I thought, what guy wouldn't want to spend the rest of his life with someone so perfect," Riddick told himself. "Jack I have something to tell you, well ask you, before we go." "Please don't bring up what I said before, I can't take any more humiliation," Jack pleaded on the inside.

"I think I know what you were trying to say before and I think I know why you ran away. You were afraid I was going to reject you. So I have decided that since I am the man I will take the chance. Hopefully I didn't misunderstand you again because then I will be the one rejected. But I figure better me than you. I have had a lot more experience in being rejected, not by women but just in general."

He was rambling and he knew it. He was usually such a quiet person, Jack was really the only person he ever had long conversations with but even to her he was rambling. It finally clicked inside her head what he was going to do, she felt relived but at the same time sad that she didn't have the courage or enough trust to be able to say what she wanted to say.


	11. Chapter 11

"What I am trying to say is that I would like to go out with you, on a date, so that we can have a real relationship, if you want." There he said it, now to wait for her response. She walked closer to him, which was not a good idea because apparently he also bought some new cologne and it was all she could do to not jump on him. She had to make sure they were on the same page about this. "So I would be your girlfriend and you would be my boyfriend?" "Yes, only if you want though." "Is that what you want?" "Yes" "So neither one of us would be seeing anyone else?" "No" "Even for just a 'good time'?" "I'm done with that Jack, I'm sorry I ever acted that way." "No strip clubs even?" "No, never again."

"Okay Riddick" "Okay what?" "Okay, babe. Let's go to dinner."

He let out a breath he didn't even know he had been holding and before he knew it Jack was very close to his face. She had her heals on which pretty much brought her up almost eye level to him and now she was very close and staring into his eyes. He knew she want him to kiss her but before he got the chance to lean into her she reached up and kissed him.

"Okay now we're even, let's go," she said pulling him toward the door by his arm.

"I will never understand her," he thought, grinning and grabbing his jacket.


End file.
